Peavey MAX 450 450watt Bass Amplifier Head - MAX450HEAD

I have the older version of it. The Nitrobass.
It's a good amp, great for the price, don't hesitate to buy a used one. The EQ is VERY versitle and gives you a lot of tonal options. This amp to me does sound good in the mix. By itself I anly like the tone with the mids scooped out. A lot of People shy away from Peavey because the tone isn't what they are looking for but no one will argue the quality, durabilty, bang for the buck and useable sound that these amps provide. If you have a specific sound you are looking for go with the amp that is known for that sound. If you want a medium powered head with a useable tone that is built "like a tank" and is affordable get this amp. I'd say $150-$245 would be a faif price for a used one. I was lucky enough to but the Nitrobass new right when the Max 450 came out so I got the Nitrobass and tvx210 cab for $350 both brand new. Great deal. Anyway, give the amp a try. Try it with different cabs, basses, amp settings....etc and then decide for yourself. Feel free to ask me more about this amp if you want

I have the older version of it. The Nitrobass.
It's a good amp, great for the price, don't hesitate to buy a used one. The EQ is VERY versitle and gives you a lot of tonal options. This amp to me does sound good in the mix. By itself I anly like the tone with the mids scooped out. A lot of People shy away from Peavey because the tone isn't what they are looking for but no one will argue the quality, durabilty, bang for the buck and useable sound that these amps provide. If you have a specific sound you are looking for go with the amp that is known for that sound. If you want a medium powered head with a useable tone that is built "like a tank" and is affordable get this amp. I'd say $150-$245 would be a faif price for a used one. I was lucky enough to but the Nitrobass new right when the Max 450 came out so I got the Nitrobass and tvx210 cab for $350 both brand new. Great deal. Anyway, give the amp a try. Try it with different cabs, basses, amp settings....etc and then decide for yourself. Feel free to ask me more about this amp if you want

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Thanks for the reply. If I decide to buy this amp I will buy it brand new. It retails for about 550 canadian. I like the fact that it can go down to 2 ohms. If I can find one in a music store near me I will try it.

I have one. I got the 450 Max head and the 410TVX cab as my backup rig. Both the head and the cab are built like a battleship and heavy as hell. As already stated, you have a wide variety of tones out of the EQ section. It doesn't take too long to dial in what you want. I've used the rig live a few times to ensure it would do all I want and was very pleased with the sound. I really like the Peavey stuff.

It goes down to 2 ohms, but tharts the only way you'll get the 450 watts from it remember

Ive got the older version of the model up (the Firebass), and its really nice, i like how it sounds and is versitile, i think the only difference other than the power sections (between the max450 and mine, bar the obvious face plate colours) is the fact the 700/firebass has a crossover

Thanks for the reply. If I decide to buy this amp I will buy it brand new. It retails for about 550 canadian. I like the fact that it can go down to 2 ohms. If I can find one in a music store near me I will try it.

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That sounds about right for Canadian retail. I've seen $569 at a couple of places. If you consider the used market, I picked up my Nitrobass (it was a bit beat up cosmetically but works 100%) for $140 US plus shipping on Evilbay. For that price I couldn't afford not to have it to back up my Ampeg SVT III Pro. I felt perfectly comfortable buying it used. I used a Deltabass (same preamp, but 160 watts) for 2 years as my main head. I also use a 115 BVX BW cab and have a TKO 115 as my practice amp.

Hey, I've got one of these amps--I've been having problems with it and that's why I searched this forum--has anyone had problems with this head overheating? The two fans inside are working but they don't seem to be enough.

My band rehearses for 4 to 6 hours some nights and I have both volume and gain around 8 to be heard over a fairly loud drummer. Usually right in the middle of a song the amp just cuts out and quits working. The DDT speaker protection light glows red whenever I attempt to play. If I plug in my backup head thru the same speaker cabinet, everything is fine. If I turn off my MAX 450 and let it set for half an hour, it resets itself and works fine.

I am currently running thru a Peavey 4 by 10 cabinet, rated at 8 ohms. The MAX 450 is also rated at 8 ohms. I have also used a Peavey Black Widow cabinet with one 15 with this head, with no problems whatsoever.

The guys at the store where I bought all my gear told me to come here and ask around if anyone else had the same problem with this head. They suggested buying a clip-on fan for the amp head, but I'm not wild about the idea of one more accessory needing a power outlet or batteries. Shouldn't a brand-new, still-under-warranty amplifier be able to take what I'm giving it? The circumstances wouldn't be any better at a gig, and I can't have my equipment acting sporadically when we start playing out.

I like Peavey--like my fellow Spector basses fan said, they're good bang for your buck and this is the first complaint I've ever had with any of their products. What should I do?

"Shouldn't a brand-new, still-under-warranty amplifier be able to take what I'm giving it?"

Yes, it should... from your description, something's not right... Just out of curiosity, are you using a speaker cable between the head and cab, or an instrument cable???

"The circumstances wouldn't be any better at a gig, and I can't have my equipment acting sporadically when we start playing out."

I heard that - I've used Peavey amps for bass exclusively for around 15 years, and never had any problems with reliability or power... Past Peaveys included Mark III, VI, and VIII - and 2 different Combo 300s - and I currently have the VIII, a 410TXF, a 115 BW loaded, and a Combo 300 - and have absolute confidence in all of them - you shouldn't have to worry about yours...

I have a Max 450 head that I use with an Avatar 2-12 cabinet. It is a 4 ohm cab so I am getting about 300 watts. I have the volume at about 4.5, not quite half way up.
The amp has done pretty well for me but I only play it at about 2 hours at a time max. No problems with overheating. Seems very reliable. I have used several Peavey guitar amps before and they were always reliable. I bought mine new with 5 year warranty for $350 from a store that was closing so I got it about $90 cheaper than I could find on the Internet. I've used it for about 8-9 months and I'm happy with the rig. I'm sure there is better equipment but not sure I could get something better than what I have for an investment of about $600.

Hey, I've got one of these amps--I've been having problems with it and that's why I searched this forum--has anyone had problems with this head overheating? The two fans inside are working but they don't seem to be enough.

My band rehearses for 4 to 6 hours some nights and I have both volume and gain around 8 to be heard over a fairly loud drummer. Usually right in the middle of a song the amp just cuts out and quits working. The DDT speaker protection light glows red whenever I attempt to play. If I plug in my backup head thru the same speaker cabinet, everything is fine. If I turn off my MAX 450 and let it set for half an hour, it resets itself and works fine.

I am currently running thru a Peavey 4 by 10 cabinet, rated at 8 ohms. The MAX 450 is also rated at 8 ohms. I have also used a Peavey Black Widow cabinet with one 15 with this head, with no problems whatsoever.

The guys at the store where I bought all my gear told me to come here and ask around if anyone else had the same problem with this head. They suggested buying a clip-on fan for the amp head, but I'm not wild about the idea of one more accessory needing a power outlet or batteries. Shouldn't a brand-new, still-under-warranty amplifier be able to take what I'm giving it? The circumstances wouldn't be any better at a gig, and I can't have my equipment acting sporadically when we start playing out.

I like Peavey--like my fellow Spector basses fan said, they're good bang for your buck and this is the first complaint I've ever had with any of their products. What should I do?

Thanks to all who've bothered to read this tirade,
Whams

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Although I dont have a Max 450, I have a Firebass, which is basically the Max 700. With my amp it's not really possible to run the preamp gain and master past 5 at the same time. If I did run it that way the amp would be trying to clip and the DDT would be on probably the entire time. I think running the gain and volume at 8 is probably your problem. If you added another very efficient cab you may be able to get the volume you need with that head, otherwise you may have to think about going with more power.

"I think running the gain and volume at 8 is probably your problem. If you added another very efficient cab you may be able to get the volume you need with that head, otherwise you may have to think about going with more power."

After re-reading this thread, I'm going to change my position to agree with the above statement - adding another cab will probably produce the desired results...

I would contact Peavey with this issue. Visit their website and shoot them an email, they are pretty prompt with replies. I ended up buying a Max 700 and have never run into any problems with overheating...then again I am not playing for 6 hours and my amp is running at 4 ohms instead of 8. As others have suggested - get a 2nd cab. This will be the best way for you to increase volume.

PS - Running the gain at 8 is a bad idea. I had a clipping issue with the gain/master at about 2 o clock. One of the fellow Peavey owners (I_got_a_mohawk ??) suggested to run the master high and the gain low..this fixed the issue.

Hey thanks everybody for all the help and replies. I have been trying to research and understand the whole power/ohms bit (and am currently putting off my science homework, much the same stuff). So if I were to run two cabinets each rated at 8 ohms then the resistance of the circuit would go down? I think I remember something along those lines from Tool Tech class. I will try giving the head more of a load then, four tens and a fifteen all at once. Then I guess if the head continues to shut itself off, I'll send it in for service. It's still under warranty for another four and a half years.

The reason I turn the pre-gain up so high is that my bass teacher told me it's the best way to get a clean sound. I actually am not running with master volume at 8 most of the time, just for a few songs. Ususally it's around 5 or 6. It's usually when it's cranked or I'm doing some big slap lines that the amp cuts out.